


the numbers don't only go down

by ineedhelpwithmylifern



Category: Infinity Train (Cartoon), Spider-Man (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Harry gets on the train, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-02-28
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:47:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22232785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ineedhelpwithmylifern/pseuds/ineedhelpwithmylifern
Summary: Harry seemed to have made a mistake. Especially judging by the green number on his palm and the train that seemed to stretch on for forever.The question was if he really wanted to leave.
Relationships: Harry Osborn/Peter Parker
Comments: 6
Kudos: 32





	1. The Train

**Author's Note:**

> an infinity train au???? wow, what a surprise!
> 
> I absolutely love infinity train and aaaa
> 
> Ofc I gotta throw someone on it. And who better to hurt than Harry Osborn himself. 
> 
> (Felicia kinda takes the place that she takes in tasm2, in being Harry's assistant! She is ofc still black cat, but he doesn't know that--

"Stop, just stop!" Harry growled, slamming his one good hand down on the desk. "Can I just not be barraged with stupid company stuff every five seconds?! I just want to finish this dumb thing first!"

The assistant that had been speaking to him recoiled. "Sorry, Mr. Osborn, but the lead of the genetic division wishes to have these files done by-"

"I. Don't. Care." He hissed, "I don't care whatever the lead of the genetic division wants right now. Can't you see that I'm busy with all of the other crap all of you ar loading on me?"

"Sorry-"

"Leave, just leave," He sighed, sitting down in his chair. "Leave the papers on my desk, I'll get to them." The assistant nodded, throwing the files down and running off.

Harry laid his head back, sighing through his nose. Why couldn't life leave him alone right now? He just wanted to be back in school with his friends, with Peter. He sat up suddenly, deciding that was what he was going to do. He was going to see Peter.

He stood up, grabbing the stack off his desk and walking out of the room. Felicia, his assistant, sat at her own desk, frowning at a computer screen.

"Hey, Felicia~" He smiled, watching her as she looked up and snorted.

"What do you want, dipstick?" She questioned, "Need me to do your papers for you again?" Felicia was his father's assistant, originally, so when Harry was given Oscorp, she became _his_ assistant. She had been the one that was around him when he had built the mech- one of his many mistakes by the way- and she had got him parts he didn't know how to get.

She was a friend.

"Yep." He dropped them on her desk, grinning, "You think you can help out?"

"Only if you give me a raise."

"How does .1 of a cent work for you?"

"You got yourself a deal, pretty boy. Where ya headin'?" She glanced over the papers, keeping an eye on Harry.

"I'm getting away from my father's company, duh." Harry chuckled, "I'm going to see Peter. I need a break."

"Ah, so your boyfriend?~" Felicia chirped, sweeping a strand of her white hair out of her face. 

Harry turned bright red, sputtering. He managed to bite out a quick, "Well, what about your girlfriend?"

"She's fine thank you," Felicia snorted once more. "Now leave before I load the paperwork back onto your desk."

"Yes, ma'am," Harry hummed, turning on his heel and walking toward the door.

"Harry?" Felicia called, "Careful with that arm, alright? Don't need you breaking it any more!"

"Yeah, mom. It's almost healed anyway, I won't need the sling anymore after tomorrow." He could feel the glare she was giving him as he walked out the door. Yeah cool.

* * *

Harry raised his hand to the door, poised to knock. Before he could, though, May opened the door with a raised eyebrow. "Harry? I saw you coming down the street." May was always like a mother to him, being there for him when he needed it. "Are you looking for Peter?"

Harry nodded, "Just stopping by to maybe hang out with him."

"He's been out all day, with school and all. Right now, he's probably back at the lab or taking photos of Spider-Man. _That boy_ , I haven't seen him since this morning. Would it kill him to inform me if he's alright?"

Harry shrugged, looking off to the side. "Thanks, May, I'll be heading off now."

"Would you like to come in and stay for tea or something, dear?" She asked, looking a little sad.

"I'm sorry, but I have paperwork to get to, and probably shouldn't give it all to Felicia. I shouldn't have come anyway." He turned around, walking down the steps.

"Harry, sweetie-" He tuned her out, feeling slightly bad for it, but continuing on anyways. _Of course_ , Peter was always off being the hero. He was always Spider-Man. Every since he was bitten, he was always off saving people he did and didn't know. Always saving Harry.

And Harry wasn't always able to save Peter. Take a look at his arm- Useless.

Harry kicked a rock, scoffing. He tries to help and of course life throws it right back in his face. Maybe he shouldn't help.

After all, it _was_ his fault for his father's death.

He found his way down into the subway station, finding it odd that there was _nobody_ there, but he stood anyway. Harry licked his lips as he waited for a train to pull in, to take him back to Oscorp. His father's company.

It was the only place he was needed at the moment anyway.

But... What if he didn't go back? What if he left everything behind? Felicia could take over Oscorp, she was sane enough. Peter would be fine without him- His other friends were enough.

The hiss of doors caught his attention, the train in front of him. Where had it come from? The odd green glow coming from the windows made him nervous, but he stepped through the opened doors anyway.

This could be his way out. Harry took a deep breath, placing one foot into the car. The green light enveloped him, taking him in and not letting go.

Everything went dark.


	2. The Noir Car

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was saving this til Sunday hut I have no self restraint hhh

Harry blearily opened his eyes, scanning the car around him. When he blacked out, it must've been at least some time after he had sat down. Odd.

He sat up, noticing that the walls of this car were deprived of any color- a multitude of greys matting it. The decor, the seats, the lights. It was almost as if he had stepped right into a black and white movie.

He looked at the thing he was laying in- the only thing that had any color at all- which was an odd egg shape. The video screen that seemed like it was supposed to be showing something had gone fuzzy, 

The subway car hissed to a stop, the doors opening once more. Why had he even thought about running away? It was a bad idea in the first place. He had so much to take care of and-

He had better be near Oscorp at this point. Felicia was already going to yell at him for not telling her how late he was staying out- his watch read almost 12. He knew that she cared about him.

He walked out into the station and took a double take. Even the station was black and white. Was there something wrong with his eyes? 

Shaking it off, he sprinted up the stairs, not stopping to see what station he was at. He could find his way to Oscorp, train or not. It was one of the tallest buildings in the city, after all. 

He cradled his broken arm against him as rain began to hit his face. Everything around him was in black and white, even the glow of the streetlights and their obvious reflections in the pools of water on the street.

He looked around him, trying to find some sort of building that he could duck into, one that he could shelter from the rain in. The lights of a nearby cafe caught his attention and he could only run over in a panic.

None of this looked familiar. Not even the shop. The woman behind the counter looked up at him and smiled. "A new face, eh?" Harry slowly nodded and the woman only smiled more. "Take a seat, sir," She gestured to the barstools in front of her. "Haven't seen a passenger around here in a long while. If you are a passenger, that is."

"Passenger?" Harry breathed, "What do you mean?"

"Take a look at your hand. The one that seems to be wrapped up." The woman hummed, resting her arms on the counter.

Harry glanced down at the sling, biting his lip. He was supposed to get it off tomorrow- He pulled off his glove, flinching when his palm suddenly glowed a bright green, displaying a number. 

_235._

"What?" He hissed at his hand, trying to make it out, "What is this?"

"Every passenger has a number, and that's yours. You hungry?" She smiled again, grabbing a plate from under the counter.

"Yeah... What's it for? The number, I mean." Harry spoke up quickly, "I should know-"

"Something to do with the train. I haven't seen any passengers in a long time, darling." Her attention was called to another customer who had just entered. She placed a plate of pancakes in front of him. "It's on the house. You'll need it."

Harry tried to block everything out, even the woman chatting happily. He stared at the black and white pancakes that he was supposed to eat, fear setting in.

A train car?

A number?

Passenger?

Boy, had he gotten himself into a mess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaa,,, thanku for reading 
> 
> If you wanna yell at me, I'm noolanala on tumblr :)


	3. The Thorn Car

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here we go! the second car in this and we be at 2.2k words!!! i think thats a good thing, and i hope you enjoy this one :)

Harry turned the handle to the door. The woman behind the counter in the cafe had mentioned it was the way out of the train car. She said it was the only thing that had any of the odd thing called color. Red, he had been told.

The door hissed open, revealing a long, thin bridge that linked him to another car. This was... Odd. The speed at which the train was traveling was amazing, but it was a magic train. What else would you expect?

The land surrounding the tracks was barren and desolate, any plants in his sight being old, brown, and dead. An animal he had never seen before seemed to be on the horizon, but the train was moving too fast to get a good look at it. A glowing circle swirled in the sky.

He found himself crossing the bridge that stood ahead of him. He worried about it being stable or not, stepping carefully. He had no idea about anything on this dumb train, let it be the number on his hand or the train itself. It seemed wrong in a sense to even be on it, but that's just how it was.

Right?

After getting across the bridge- safely- he found himself facing another red door. The golden handle glinted in whatever light this strange realm was giving off, inviting him to enter the next car.

He pushed the handle, watching the door hiss open before his eyes.

The inside of this car was vastly different from the last. He stepped in, taking in everything around him. Everything around him was thorns. The thicket of briar in front of him reached out as far as he could see, most points even reaching above his head.

Harry began to make his trek into the unknown forest, making turns around tight corners. Every way he went, he was faced with more thorns. Every time he'd take a step, he would gain another scratch from the plants. It was painful and it was no fun.

His broken arm wasn't any help either.

He was sitting down, attempting to nurse a particularly bad scratch on his healthy arm, when someone turned the corner quickly. They didn't notice him and instead tripped over him, landing in a heap on the ground. They locked eyes with Harry as they got up quickly.

"What are you doing on the ground?" They hissed in a harsh whisper, "You have to get up and run." Harry complied almost reluctantly, taking their hand for a moment.

"Who are you?" He asked, yet it wasn't answered as he was pulled away down another path. "What are we running from?" He yelled, trying to at least get some kind of answer.

"A particularly strong null," They replied curtly, "You'd better keep up or you'll be trampled within seconds."

Harry bit back a remark about her pulling him along. He kept running, not wanting to know what she was talking about. A glance back showed him the silent but fast-moving form of a monster made of thorns. Okay. Yeah. He was going to listen to this person.

He tripped and fell, the person immediately moving to help him up. "C'mon, let's go." He tried to ignore the sharp pain in his arm.

A quick turn and he was stopped by them. They signaled to a hole in the wall of thorns, barely big enough for them to get through. He crawled through into a hole big enough for several people to sit and hide comfortably in, closely followed by the other.

They held their hand up to their mouth in a silencing gesture while the ground rumbled beneath them. A moment later, they nodded. "It's gone."

"What was that?" Harry questioned anxiously, "And why was it after us?" He held his broken arm close to his chest, hoping it wasn't bad.

The person watched him quietly before answering. "A null. Thorn monster. Doesn't want us in its maze. Simple as that." They narrowed their eyes. "Broken arm?"

"Y-yeah, I broke it before I showed up on the train. Fell," He muttered, "Who are you?"

They grinned widely at that, the red line on their face finally visible to him. "Mia. Of the Apex. You?"

Harry raised an eyebrow but answered anyway. "Harry."

Mia smiled, "Harry, eh? How long have you been here?"

"The train or the car?" He asked back, "I've been on the train for a day at most, this car for probably about a few hours?"

Mia nodded, "You've gotten pretty far for someone who's been here for only a few hours, this is the only place I've known for god knows how long." She traced the line on her face with a hum. "The sun always stays right in the middle of the sky here. Always is high noon. That's how I lost track."

"And you're-"

"Hardly though this dumb maze. The Apex has probably forgotten about me now."

"The Apex?"

"Only the strongest group of passengers on the train!" She grinned, "I've managed to get my number up pretty high, but nowhere as much as Grace and Simon, but they're the leaders for a reason, right?"

"You're supposed to get your number up?"

"Of course," She displayed the number of 1,349 that was on her hand to Harry, "It shows strength. What's yours?"

"Two hundred and thirty-five," He whispered, "It shows strength?"

"Yes, the real conductor was the one who told us that. She had the highest number, and then the orb took over and ruined everything."

Harry had nothing to say to that as they sat in silence. She suddenly put her finger up to her mouth again as the ground rumbled.

"Rest," She whispered, "We continue when the null is far enough away."

* * *

Harry woke up to Mia tapping his shoulder. "The null is on the other side of the maze. We move now."

Their pace was hurried, every turn seemingly perfect from Harry's perspective. His arm still stung, the sling not doing much to help it.

"Do you actually know your way out?" Harry asked carefully, avoiding a thorn that seemed to stretch out towards him.

"Nope," Mia replied, picking another path, "In addition to the null, the maze changes pretty often as a challenge. Just trying to pick my way around."

"So you're going in random directions?"

"Yep."

"Of course you are," Harry grumbled, "Is this why you've been lost for so long?"

"Pretty much, given the fact that this place is huge as well," She started to walk down another path, but thorns suddenly stretched across it, blocking it. "Oh no."

He gave her a look as she turned around. "Why did it close up? Wouldn't it have changed a while ago?"

"Yeah, but it'll change according to the null's will," Mia hissed, choosing a different path and hurrying her pace.

Harry stuck by her, "And the null does this constantly?"

"Only when it's near." She smiled weakly, swinging around a wall.

"I thought you said it was on the other side of the maze!"

"When we left it was!"

Harry turned around for a moment to see the monster staring right at him with its dark hollow eyes- ones made by holes in the thick weave of the thorns it was made out of. It was growing closer to him at a steady pace and he found his feet unable to move from the ground.

Thorns had grown to cover his feet, keeping him locked in one place. He attempted to pull them out but to no avail. He was stuck and the null was coming right for him.

"Harry!" Mia shrieked, her attention immediately turned to him from the yards away she had gotten in the time he stood still. She began to run back in hopes of saving him.

But she was too late.

The thorns had surrounded him.

* * *

When he finally saw the light again, he wasn't in the maze. A small stream of water ran in front of him, lush green grass all around. An apple tree stood in the middle, a single flower underneath. This oasis was surrounded by a wall of thorns, keeping him locked in.

Harry moved over to the tree, resting his head against it as he sat down. 

"Stuck in a thorn maze in a train that goes on forever, eh Harold?" He whispered to himself, "Why doesn't that surprise you?"

He sat for a while until the null returned, a bundle of thorns in hand. It placed the thorns down in the grass, before retreating into the maze. The ball of thorns retracted, sprawling Mia out on the ground. "You wouldn't believe how much of a gamble that was, Harry. You couldn't believe-" She sat up, her gaze finally catching what was around her. "Alright, where are we?"

"Somewhere in the middle of the maze, I'd assume," Harry spoke, "As there is one tree that might just be the source of the thorns."

"Good idea, but there could be something else."

"Why would the monster have brought us here?" Harry asked tentatively, 

"Don't know, don't care," Mia hummed, standing up. "We need to find a way out of here and fast so we don't have to find out why."

Harry watched her walk around the area looking at every wall and crevice, watching every leaf and blade of grass. He stood up, grabbing some apples from the tree and stuffing them into his bag. he needed at least something to eat before Mia found a way out. He also needed some for the road. It couldn't be that bad. He took a bite out of another that he picked from the tree. He pulled his gloves out of his pocket, looking at the old leather and then his hands. The hand on which the 235 stood in silence. 

His eyes turned to the thorn wall and then back to his gloves. A small what if asked itself in his mind and he just had to try. 

Putting his gloves on, he walked over to the wall and grabbed one of the outstretched branches. He used his good arm to pull himself up, the broken one not much help except for a bit of stabilization. He managed to scale the wall, making his way up to the top. The gloves protected his hands, and his shoes kept the thorns from stabbing his feet. The top of the wall was sturdier than he thought it would be, strong enough to stand and probably walk on.

"Did you just climb the wall?" Mia called from the ground below, "How did you do that without killing your hands?"

Harry threw down the gloves and she made an 'o' shape with her mouth. He waited for her to join him on the top as well before he took them back and spoke. "Thought that they would help me make my way up here. It worked."

Mia nodded. "We can make our way out of the entire car from up here, it'll be perfect!" Harry silently agreed and they walked for a while in silence, the noonday sun never moving from its spot.

Harry felt like he had done something important, that he had done something _good_. He felt like he had done something useful and Mia certainly thought that after however long she had been stuck in this maze. Maybe there was a reason he was on this train, anyway. He looked at his hand to see that the number had gone down, a bright green _234_ shone up at him. Did he do something right or wrong.?

"Is that the door?" Mia's question had come out rushed and quiet, but e could hear the happiness in her voice, even though all they saw was a small red dot in the distance. She had excitedly begun to run before tripping. Harry luckily caught her before he could fall back down into the maze. "That wouldn't have been good," She breathed, Harry only nodding.

He could see the monster on the horizon in the other direction, silently prowling the maze. They had finally made their way to the final wall, so all they had to do was climb down and they would be free. As his feet hit the ground, Harry spoke. "What would the monster think of us leaving? It went to all that trouble to put us in that... _Place..._ "

"Nothing," Mia answered, "It's a null. It doesn't have feelings." She put her hand against the cool metal of the handle before speaking again. "Though, if I was in its shoes, I'd be happy that we're out of its maze."

Harry didn't say anything, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I'm ready to go."

She smiled. "I am too." She pushed the golden handle, letting the door open up. She stepped out and Harry was soon to follow afterward. She looked wistfully back into the car and reached into her pocket. "I won't _ever_ miss _that._ " She pulled out a match and struck it, throwing it into the car, the flame flickering.

As the door closed, the last thing Harry saw was the first wall of thorns going up in flames.

He didn't notice his number moving up to _236._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh? Mia what are you doing? And Harry, who have you found yourself with this time? Hopefully you don't follow a member of the Apex and get the wrong ideas about the train... Only time will tell, though...
> 
> Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed leave a comment or a kudos!

**Author's Note:**

> I'll try to write chapters and get them out soon!


End file.
